Finishing the Process--Week 9

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 9

Remembering: What did I do?

I took the list of recommended changes from Dr. Weaver and my Tasmanian Devils, and updated my literature review accordingly.  I reviewed the paper again, made a few typographical and stylistic updates, and submitted the final draft.

Understanding: What was important about it?

Well, it's important because it marks the end of a major effort; because I feel like I've produced a quality piece of scholarly literature; and because it has taught me a great deal about the subject matter and the academic writing process.  It is also important because it marks another step toward the completion of this program.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

Every time I've had to turn in an assignment, I've experienced a similar feeling.  The revision process is similar to that which has been discussed in previous weeks; it is notable for being the last.

I will use this again for every written element I polish and submit, to professors, students, printers, and journals.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

Not except for an extension of the revision process itself.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

There wasn't a lot to do, so I was able to devote myself to producing my best output.  I feel like it all worked.  I did have trouble fitting some of the revision ideas into the flow of my literature review, but I think it worked out in the end.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

Next, I will sit back and wait for the tide to come in.

Personal Reflections

I completed this final step very early, as I wanted to complete the process while I still had time to do so.  Final examination start at SCO this week, and my attentions are sorely needed elsewhere.

All in all, this was a very rewarding semester, as I produced a product I am proud of, learned a great deal about a topic, and even experienced abject failure, and what it is like to be unable to cope.  I saw my daughter's heartbeat on a sonogram, and I ran a marathon.  The (football) Tigers are up, and the (basketball) Tigers are down.  The people ride in a hole in the ground...

I also dared to end the semester on a movie reference.

Full stop.  Click "Publish."  Good night.

Meeting the Professor--Week 8

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 8

Remembering: What did I do?

I met with Dr. Weaver and discussed some ideas she had for the improvement of my literature review.  I put these suggestions into a formal document, and implemented some of them. I also had my wife read through my paper for a second time and give me some feedback.

Understanding: What was important about it?

My better half: Micah, my wife, is a great critic of style and points of good writing.  She has a special distaste for one of my tendencies in writing (i.e., the overuse of commas).  Her review is important, as it grants me feedback on how the paper reads to a person who is not an instructional designer.

Dr. Weaver: the meeting with Dr. Weaver gave me information from a professional instructional design professor's perspective. Thus, she alerted me to missing ideas and important sources that I should include.

Me: the few revisions I was able to complete this week are important for how they improved my paper.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I've revised papers in many different situations before. This particular instance is most like the process of writing my Masters' thesis, however, with its many revisions, and emphases on perfection of writing and theoretical comprehensivity.

I'm sure to have plenty of talks with professors, colleagues, and my wife over my future works as I go through this process, and as I continue to write academic articles.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

The revision process itself is a repetitive one.  I am starting to get tired of this paper :)

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I received great feedback, that substantially improved the product. The meeting was very productive. I didn't have much to do this week, but I feel that what was done worked very well.   need to make a final improvement on my paper before turning it in, of course.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

Next, I should make some final changes, perform one last proofread, and turn the paper in.

Personal Reflections

There was not much to do with the paper this week, which was very appreciated.  With lab exams and preparations for finals week at SCO, and running the St. Jude Marathon, the week was busy enough as it was.

Peer Reviews--Week 7

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 7

Remembering: What did I do?

I reviewed the second drafts of my fellow Tasmanian Devils and sent them my feedback.  I received feedback from the same.

Understanding: What was important about it?

The importance is in the process of reviewing, which sharpens my own abilities as a writer and reviewer of academic literature.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I've reviewed literature before when grading my students' work, and when reviewing papers back in my undergraduate writing workshop days.  Work study at the old U of Memphis.  Those were good times.

It seems that this will be particularly helpful as my career in academia continues, particularly if I should find myself on a poster or paper review board.  Of course, reviewing papers is good practice for reviewing one's own work too.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

Just that I enjoy nitpicking.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

Well, the feedback I created was useful, I think.  I hope I wasn't too harsh with my critiques, but I think all the advice was good.  I started this process early so as to finish before Thanksgiving, so that was nice.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

I will review the comments of my peers, along with the comments from Dr. Weaver, and compose a final draft.

Personal Reflections

A nice relaxing week this week--I enjoyed the hiatus very much.  Looking forward, I have some minor revisions to make and a few small sections to create.  I feel good about my ability to satisfactorily complete the literature review on time and at a high level of quality.

Literature Review 2--Week 6

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 6

Remembering: What did I do?

I completed a belated first draft and revised a second draft of my literature review.

Understanding: What was important about it?

This is the product itself. It's important because the nascent thoughts are beginning to form.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I did this when writing other literature reviews. I will use these writing and revising skills as I go forward in this class, and as I write my dissertation.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

Not so much, except for the pattern of working which will continue to repeat itself in the near future.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I feel that I put together a product with some logical flow, that reads pretty well, and is reasonably concise. I need to work on updating on a regular schedule.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

Next up is Thanksgiving week, with reviews and redrafting. I think I will consider reorganizing my last section, and grouping the bullet points into topical headings.

Personal Reflections

This week, I felt much better and was able to finish the late first draft and the second draft.  I'm pretty happy with the results.  The nature of my last blog post almost certainly indicated my despair; I was bluntly worried that I had lost my edge--that I would not be able to focus going forward. This week brought reinforcement that my exhaustion was anomalous.

I'm writing this today from New Jersey, where I have travelled for a business overnight trip. I cannot wait to return home tomorrow evening.

Reflection on Failure--Week 5

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 5

Remembering: What did I do?

I organized my sources for the first draft of my literature review. I failed to complete any additional work.

Understanding: What was important about it?

The importance is to the future act of writing; this will help me create the literature review with maximum efficiency.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I've done this kind of thing before when writing papers; that is, classifying and organizing sources.  It is likely to occur often throughout the rest of my life.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

The pattern is procrastination, though this time it may be more accurate to refer to it as exhaustion. More about this below.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I did horribly.  I had no energy, no discipline, no concentration, no time. This has been one of the most difficult weeks I have ever faced academically.

To improve, I must actually create a product.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

I must complete the belated first draft of the literature review, post haste.  But I can't focus my mind!

Personal Reflections

What a disaster. What a personal failure. I arrived in Denver feeling sick, and stayed that way throughout the week. After completing CE classes and professional requirements, I would return to my room exhausted. I failed to get any work done throughout the week, except for minor expansion and classification of the material. I sat down to begin writing several times, but each time I could not manage to concentrate on the task.

I've never experienced such utter academic failure. There have been times when I have produced subpar work, but never before have I straight up missed an assignment. I am disgusted with myself. I am so sorry for letting Dr. Weaver and my professors down.

Even writing this blog post is taxing my stamina. I feel like I could sleep a week.

I will arise tomorrow morning, complete my obligations at work, and then write until I have a product to submit.

Reflection of annotated bibliography and first outline draft--week 4

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 4

Remembering: What did I do?

I added the final twenty articles to my annotated bibliography.  I put together a very rough first draft of my outline for the literature review.  I shared the latter with the Google+ community.

Understanding: What was important about it?

Having the annotated bibliography finished is nice. This is important because it suddenly becomes a useful resource, rather than an albatross.  Nothing has changed except for its requisite nature, of course, yet I could not help thinking of it primarily as a burden when I had deadlines to meet.  I expect to see it as a useful and helpful resource as I begin in earnest the writing of the literature review.
The outline is important as an organizer of my thoughts and content. I'm already starting to classify my sources (mentally, at this point) around the outline topics.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I have completed similar annotated bibliography assignments twice already this semester, and I'm sure to perform similar functions as I continue in my research career.
Outlining is one of those ubiquitous steps.  I've created a basic modular outline such as this one for every major paper I've written in the last decade, and will likely continue to do so as time goes on.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

I'm coming across many of the same articles in database and literature searches. It's a good feeling to know that, in some areas, I am coming close to the point of literature exhaustion. The production of an outline can be thought of as a formal representation of the patterns and relationships I have identified as I created the annotated bibliography these last three weeks (particularly the subheadings).
On a less positive level, once again I procrastinated rather badly. I found myself passing by the library after a hard day's work, putting the bulk of the work off till the weekend.  Even then, I did almost no work on Saturday, because of my desire to balance family time (and, honestly, good NCAA football). That left Sunday afternoon and evening for the production of most of my output. This pattern is a bad one. With my trip to the American Academy of Optometry meeting coming up Tuesday through Sunday of this upcoming week, I will have to do as much work as possible Monday, and on the airplane Tuesday evening, to prevent a terrible crunch.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

Again, I feel pretty good about the sources I found for the annotated bibliography, and my summaries of the articles. I need to reorganize the sources now around keywords; perhaps I can put references under each heading and subheading of my outline?
I felt constrained by my topic outline when creating my literature review outline; I would have liked to have organized the literature review differently based upon the information I found during my annotated bibliography, but I wanted to at least have one outline that was reasonably similar to the topic proposal. I'm sure that this will change before the week is up.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

I will review the new online course material as soon as it is released Monday morning.  I'll organize and plan my work Monday night, and enter the specific steps into my smartphone task app, HabitRPG.  This will keep my on task this week, hopefully.

Personal Reflections

I'm very happy to be done with the formal annotated bibliography, and to get on with the actual writing. I hope this bibliography will in fact lead to a reduction of the work load when I am writing. I believe I made a quality document, but I left much detail out for the sake of space and readability. Hopefully, I won't have to review the articles too deeply during the writing process.

I'm exhausted. There are so many pulls on me now. There's the doctoral work, of course, and the three courses I'm teaching (two as instructor of record).  I have to prepare for the poster session that's coming up this week. I have an obvious and good desire to spend time with my wife (now 19 weeks pregnant!), which pulls me in another direction. On top of this, I am feeling as though I am neglecting the other members in my church, who count on me as I count on them (a word on this point: there is no spiritual dryness or fear of sinning here. Grace is a wonderful gift, and God does not begrudge me being busy. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, and, in lieu of a true Sabbath day, I have learned to rest in him). Last, and certainly least, but still important, is my wish for some straight-up leisure time. I want to take some time at the Academy meeting to simply spend time with friends and see the sights in and around Denver. Hopefully I will be able to schedule this and stick to it.

Reflection upon more literature review work--Week 3

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 3

Remembering: What did I do?

I added twenty more articles to my literature review.  I completed my report on the meeting with Dr. Dennis.

Understanding: What was important about it?

Compiling the report about Dr. Dennis' ideas was useful in formally putting them down so as to not forget.
Reading and reviewing the additional articles was important, as this week I found that understanding of the central issues and themes of my questions crystalized. I better understood what is going on, what the conflicts are, who the major players are, and so on. I'm also gaining more and more enthusiasm for the project.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

Re: literature review, I did something similar to this last week. I'll presumably do something similar next week as well. This skill is usable for every study I do in my career going forward.
Re: library report; the creation of the report itself is not particularly applicable, but the information within it is very useful. I can see that it will be very helpful as I create my dissertation in the next few years.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

Just that it was like what I did last week. It was interesting that I started to see the same articles coming up in my running list of important articles, indicating that I am starting to reach saturation of sources in some of my research areas.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I think I did okay for the most part.  I'm starting to really get this subject and the controversy underlying it. I need to pay closer attention to how the varying articles interrelate. As I write up my outline this week, I'll try and organize my articles according to where in the paper their information will go.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

Finish this thing. Keep on with what is working (most of the process). Link the articles together more. Be sure all loose ends are tied up and gaps in my understanding, filled.

Personal Reflections

I don't have a lot to add here, except to comment that my enthusiasm for this material is growing. I'm starting to see how this subject has influenced education and how this plays into my personal view of the world and education. I've forwarded a few other articles on to my wife, who has enjoyed and digested and summarized them so well that I'm beginning to wonder if we should switch places.

Reflection upon library meeting and beginning of annotated bibliography--Week 2

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 2

Remembering: What did I do?

This week, I met with Dr. Dennis, the librarian, and reviewed twenty articles for my forthcoming literature review on gifted students in group learning.

Understanding: What was important about it?

The meeting with Dr. Dennis was purely helpful. She gave me lots of nice tips and search keywords (to be written up an submitted soon) to help in my discovery of useful articles. Her advice was good too, about expanding my searches to include international students.  It helped set me on the right track.

The annotated bibliography was important for the obvious reasons: I need to read about my topic so I can understand it. I have to do this before I can write about it. It's all pretty straight forward.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

Well, the information about search techniques that Dr. Dennis shared with me should be useful for the rest of my life, particularly if I really get into RefWorks seriously. I can see that being a very useful tool.

I have written annotated bibliographies for many other classes. This one had a slightly more formal form. I can see using the last two categories in the future: "How does this relate to my questions?" and "what do I need to look up?" This is very useful.

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

Not so much, apart from procrastination crush. As it was last week, the realities of my life now mean that the bibliography just had to wait until the weekend. So, my weekend was a busy whirlwind of reading and reporting. I have planned on stopping by the Ned McWherter Library on the way home from work tomorrow to write up three articles, so hopefully I can avoid the crunch in week three.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I feel that I did okay. Some of the sources I reviewed were notable (for my purposes, at least) for just one of two lines that will be helpful in the paper. That seems a little cheap, but one has to find attribution where one may, mustn't one?

Waiting till the weekend didn't work. Fix that.

Reading articles worked. I even shared one particularly good article with my wife, as I think it has implications for how we will design our homeschool classroom for TBD Taylor who is currently five months from joining us. 

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

This plan now is to stay the course, while making the review schedule more regular and, therefore, less onerous. 

Personal Reflections

Few this week. I enjoy reading articles and writing papers. The feedback is immediate and enjoyable, both from reading a well-written article and understanding new ideas, to creating a document and seeing my ideas come together in a coherent and hopefully lovely document.

Writing the annotated bibliography, however, if one of those intermediate steps that I realize is necessary, but that grants no joy to the worker. It just must be done, to assure the quality of the final step. The researcher must walk out on faith that all will be better because of the drudgery. This is wisdom.

Reflection upon Graphic Organizer and Topic Selection Assignments--Week 1

As part of an important and required process, I will weekly reflect upon my work in IDT 8500 using Peter Pappas' Taxonomy of Reflection.

Taxonomy of Reflection: Week 1

Remembering: What did I do?

This week, I created a graphic organizer, summarizing my understanding of the elements of a literature review, and defined my topic for the literature review that I will produce in the IDT 8500 class. My work was completed and turned in prior to the deadline--but only by a few hours--due to a busy week of traveling and professional obligations.

Understanding: What was important about it?

The graphic organizer forced me to think about the parts of the literature review in an orderly, systematic fashion. I had to synthesize information found in several different sources and concisely reproduce it in one diagram. This helps in the development of my personal cognitive Literature Review Schema, so that future production of literature reviews will be appropriate in scope and form.

When selecting my topic, I had to consider the many questions that have arisen throughout my studies in The University of Memphis IDT department and identify the one that I most want to learn about. In developing specific research questions, I considered what information would have to be understood in order for my proposed research to go forward. This methodical process is one of logic and abstract thinking, and vital in understanding the route from relative ignorance to deep knowledge of the topic.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I use it again?

I've been required to create graphic organizers in other classes (in education, biomedical, and optometric settings) as a concept-solidifying and organizing technique. Occasionally, I have used such drawings in personal problem solving, particularly when considering large subjects that I cannot fully consider at once. Yet, I do not tend to prefer to use such graphic models when learning a concept, as I find the concept remains relatively blurry until I actually put it into practice. This is not a technique that I am likely to use in the future.

The process of topic selection, however, is merely a particular example of the first step in every high-order intellectual project. I have performed such definition and analysis of requisite questions on every personal, academic, and professional problem I have faced in my adult life. Thus, efficient and thorough problem analysis is of enormous applied importance. 

Analysis: Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

I felt that I approached both tasks with relative efficiency (brought on, perhaps, by the aforementioned time crunch). I read the assignments early in the week, and considered them throughout the next several days. When I found time to complete them, my path was identified and my outcomes were high-quality and efficient. I will have to take care not to allow this last-minute completion to become the norm, for I know how difficult it can make a class like this.

The selection of the topic, being the first step in the production of a literature review, was necessary for what is to come in this class. I anticipate it becoming a vital component of my future work. The graphic organizer, however, will likely languish in a folder on my computer. I don't feel that it helped solidify my understanding of the literature review, and I doubt I will reference it in the future.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I am happy with my output this week. I do not feel I had to cut corners or submit substandard products with either the graphic organizer or topic selection assignments. My thought process in developing the topic and requisite research questions was streamlined and incisive. I need to avoid last-minute work in the future, using to my full advantage the assigned time each week.

Creation: What should I do next? What's my plan/design?

The majority of what is to come is outlined in the course. I have identified procrastination as my most pressing concern, so I must implement policies to prevent this in the future. Perhaps I will dedicate a certain amount of scheduled time each evening to course work.

Personal Reflections

My struggles with the demands on my time are well described above. The importance of the topic selection--specifically the knowledge that my topic in this course would define the direction of my future research--filled me with a certain amount of apprehension. I do not feel that I know the subject in which I wish to perform my research, or which would make the best project. There are many interesting topics I would like to explore. 

These issues made these assignments, though minor in demand, somewhat frustrating. I settled on a topic that was informed by the course I took with Dr. Grant this Summer. He had reviewed the concept and signed off on it, which gave me some confidence that it has research merit.

It is probably obvious that I found the graphic organizer assignment of little use. I am aware enough of the prevailing research to know that I am in fact learning when I organize and produce such a document, whether I feel as though I am learning or not. Such activities have never lent themselves to me, however, so I found it frustrating. Adding to this frustration is the clunkiness and overall poor user interface of every graphic organizer software I have ever explored. Producing outlines in these programs is a process so artificial and non-intuitive that I feel as though more of my time is spent struggling with the interface than actually producing a useful diagram. Web-based tools merely amplify these problems, even on the fastest Internet connections, as every step is slower and buggier than on local software. The entire process made me wish I could simply take pen and paper, draw an outline, then scan and submit it. Compared to computer based tools, the venerable pen and paper seem so elegant, so efficient, so tactile, so right. 

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References

Pappas, P. (2010, January 5). The reflective student: A taxonomy of reflection (part 2). Retrieved from http://www.peterpappas.com/2010/01/reflective-student-taxonomy-reflection-.html

Welcome to IDT 8500!

This blog is on again, thanks to the IDT 8500 class in the Autumn of 2014.

Watch this space for more posts over the rest of the semester.

--Daniel